Additional Chief Secretary (Industries) Paul Antony has written to Chief Secretary S.M. Vijayanand seeking to know whether he should stay on as Secretary, Industries, in the light of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) listing him as the third accused in the nepotism case against former Industries Minister E.P. Jayarajan.
According to government sources, Mr. Antony wrote to the Chief Secretary on Wednesday evening wondering if his continuation in the post was tenable since his action had come under the Vigilance scanner and seeking a clarification in the matter.
Although the letter was addressed to him, the Chief Secretary did not take any decision in the matter and forwarded the letter to Industries Minister A.C. Moideen, who had already left for Thrissur.
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When reporters sought his stand on the letter in Thrissur, Mr. Moideen said he was yet to see the letter and could not comment on the issue without seeing the letter. He, however, added that he had found no reason to complain against Mr. Antony with whom he had been working for the past one-and-a-half months.
The official cannot be considered guilty till the charge against him was proved. “Mr. Antony need not resign just because a Vigilance investigation has been initiated against him. The question of his resignation will come only if he is proved guilty in the case. I am fully satisfied with his work as Industries Secretary. There has been no allegation against him, except this case,” the Minister said.
Meanwhile, CPI(M) State secretariat member Anathalavattom Anandan said in a TV discussion that he did not believe that the charges against Mr. Antony would hold as he had only gone by the instructions of his Minister.
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